Search This Blog

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Review: 4 Scents from Magenta's Blood

I was recently offered four free samples to review by Magenta's Blood. I've never tried this brand before, so I was definitely curious.

___________________________________

Perfume Oils General Review

In general, I find that the throw of these scents go only up to intimate whispering distance. You get wafts if single notes around faux whispering distance, but you definitely need to get closer to get more of the scent. The scent gets pretty faint in about an hour but doesn't fully fade until a few hours later.

___________________________________

Review Notes

As always, reviews are done blind until the TL;DRs are written. If any of the notes surprise me, I write an overview. I've also started adding a "Final Verdict" section to help me keep track of my perfumes and figure out what to destash, since my perfume collection is starting to get messy. Here are the categories I came up with for my "Final Verdict":

Love: Most awesome perfume ever. Need endless supplies of it and will swap my first born child for the last drops of it if it's limited edition.

Like: I like it and may buy a full size of it, but it's not urgent.

Interesting: I don't really like it or I don't think I can wear it in public, but I appreciate the artistry of the scent. It's like a beautiful but unwearable runway piece you won't buy on your own, but don't mind owning.

Ok: It's okay. I like it enough, but may destash for a good price to keep my collection manageable.

Destash: Kill it with fire.

Age it: Maybe it will smell good one day. One day. Just wait.

___________________________________

Lamashtu

"Head notes: tuberose, Gardenia, Frankincense, Tobacco Leaf."

Clean, powdery white florals. It's very clean to the point where I think more of room fragrances rather than perfumes. It does make me think of bright, clean, British East Indies plantation style homes with gleaming white walls and dark wood furniture. Something like this:

Lost souls

"Head notes: violet, jasmine, Gardenia, laudanum."

My dad grabbed this vial going, "What's this? Banana?"

He flinched immediately after he sniffed it from the vial and I can kind of see why. It's a very kiddy scent. On me, it made me think of some creamy, fruity bubble gum. I don't know if it's the suggestion from my dad, but it smells like banana cantaloupes to me. There's hints of crushed leaves and play-doh too. Full disclosure, I kinda like artificial banana and cantaloupes, so I like this scent. I know it's not for everyone though.

I don't know how my dad decided it's banana from the vial, but this is the pic the scent comes with:

Image courtesy of Magenta's Blood

I guess he's hungry, zoomed in on the yellow and decided it's banana perfume.

Around 5-10, it smells like artificial sugared violets, with this herbal green scent that always struck me as "itchy". It's one of those sharp, spicy, stringy sort of zesty green scent that makes me think of traditional herbal oils my Indonesian nannies used to put on my mosquito bites. I kinda like the combination, it keeps the scent from getting way too sweet on me.

Unfortunately, by 15 min, it's all soap. Sugared violet soap. With hints of play doh.

I think I'm still going to age it since it smells really great in between!

TL;DR: Sugared violet soap with hints of play doh.

Final Verdict: Age it

___________________________________

Nekromantic

"Leading notes: Argarwood, funeral roses, vanilla and sandalwood."

Oh. I love this. Ok, just putting out there, this is really, really weird, but my nose is so jaded, I love it. It smells like a thick explosion of petals, and musky buttery popcorn. The buttery popcorn fades more to a buttery, yellow vanilla after about 2-3 min, but it's still gorgeous.

It's definitely a luxurious scent, and somehow, this scent really evokes the colour yellow. It's a heavier sort of scent, but still delicate and young. I definitely recommend it for people who like heavier, muskier florals but still want to keep it young –it's a scent I see on someone in their mid-20s.

After about 20 min, the scent lightens up on me to the point where it still feels buttery, but it's also cool and milky at the same time. When initially, it makes me think of demure girls in layers of chiffon, now I'm thinking of someone more seductive. This is cool, seductive, and dangerous buttery florals. It's such a weird combination but I love it!

If I'm picking a picture to capture this scent, this is it:

You know she can strangle you with those ribbons..Image courtesy of Maria Bashko

TL;DR: Cool, seductive, and dangerous buttery florals.

Final Verdict: Love

___________________________________

The Sea Wolf

This smells like a very familiar taffy sort of candy on me. I'm trying to figure it out. Oh. I got it. Fruit Roll Ups and Gushers. It smells like a perfumed version of the dark purple Fruit Roll Ups or Gushers. There's a bit of a zesty orange soda, but my skin is not amping it up at all.

It starts smelling like one of those generic citrus autumn candles to me by 20 min, so I'm not a fan. I mean, it's objectively a pretty scent, but it reminds me too much of a common Yankee candle and I smell it so often in malls all over America September onwards, that I can't get too excited over it.

TL;DR: Fruit Roll Ups/Gushers turning into Autumn candles.

Final Verdict: Ok

Overview: Maybe the booze, cinnamon and licorice just takes over on my skin, turning this scent into an Autumn candle scent.